One Night
by MogadorianWolf
Summary: Nine went too far this time. Four finds a crying Five on the couch after having beaten Nine in another fight. Four lends a shoulder and an ear. This is one of my first works on AO3.


One Night

Five/Four

_ Nine went too far this time. Four finds a crying Five on the couch after having beaten Nine in another fight. Four lends a shoulder and an ear._

I felt bad for leaving Sarah in the middle of the night alone in my bed, but the nightmares kept haunting me, circling around like a flock of vultures waiting to devour me at the slightest sign of weakness. It was hard to keep them at bay even with her warm body beside me. Soft crying drew me toward the living room, and I had to remind myself that I was awake and this wasn't a nightmare, where the crying always preceded a funeral for one of the people I was supposed to protect.

Five was curled up on the couch, his face buried in his knees. There was blood on his knuckles, and my initial nausea overwhelmed me with a quick flash of Sarah's bloody and beaten body that had been featured in tonight's horrors. He looked up at my gag, his eyes flat and shining, like he was losing the ability to care but was still crying. I forced myself to sit beside him, "It's not you. I'm just having a rough night. Looks like you're having one too."

I nodded at his hand, and he nodded back, scooting away until he was pressed against the arm of the couch. The silence lingered, and I curled up at the other end. I had almost drifted off when he spoke, "I punched Nine. It just got… bad. One thing lead to another."

He paused, his eyes flickering briefly to me before back down, "Do you think… do you think I'm needy? Nine said I was. He said he wanted me to back off, told me to go fly back to the Mogs." He stared down into his lap, feet flexing on the couch like he wasn't sure what to do. Nine needed some more training on how to handle social situations. I'd been where Five was, and it didn't make me feel good, either.

I sighed, "He's just jealous. You're fine, sometimes a little awkward, but you handle the others better than he can. He was like that with me to begin with too. He'll probably come by apologize, say how much you mean to him, and offer you pizza. It'll be sweet in his own way."

A flicker of a smile crossed Five's face, "I wish he would be nicer. I mean, I realize I was a jerk to him to begin with too, but…"

"Yeah… trying to kill him, probably wasn't the best way to start off." He looked up at me with a crooked smile, relieved that I understood. Dealing with something solid like this was so much easier than fighting vaporous nightmares. I opened my arms up to him, alright as long as I was helping, "You can come over here. It's okay to cry."

He collapsed into my arms with hardly any hesitation, crying whole heartedly into my chest. After a moment it wasn't just tears that he was pouring out, "I hate that. When I wake up. I keep feeling scared that I won't find him there, that I did kill him and… that this is all the dream… and when I find him… he's… he's just… he doesn't understand."

I held him as he shuddered and gulped down some air. In some ways he was voicing the very same fears I was having- without the whole murdering-the-person-you-love- thing. Some nights it was Sarah, other nights it was Sam or Nine, and a couple times it was Henry- that one had been really hard- BK or Ella. It was unnerving, but I pushed on, "Tell him. Nine might be… well, he might be a lot of things, but he's not completely heartless. Besides he might have the same fears, too. He just won't voice them without a lot of nudging, and pestering. Knowing him, he's probably brushing them off as not that important. He did that to me."

Five nodded against my chest, clinging tightly to me, "Thanks. You're really nice. I mean… not Marina nice, but… you're someone people can count on. Nine has a good best friend… and we don't ever have to worry about the in-laws."

I choked on a laugh; he sounded like he was weighing the perks of being in a relationship with his boyfriend. Someone cleared their throat, making both of us look up. Nine stood in the doorway, shirtless with blood on his face still and looking awkward, "Guy bonding without telling me?"

Five sat up, looking guarded. "I didn't feel like getting punched in the face again."

"I think we're even on the whole face-punching-thing." He gently touched his swollen nose, "And if I recall right, you're the one that punched me. Besides I don't want to have my hand broken again. Johnny-boy here looking after your hand?" He met Five's gaze, sauntering forwards a little ways, looking guarded in his own way.

Five flickered a glance at me, "My hand's fine. Nothing's broken, and it doesn't hurt anymore."

Nine nodded, satisfied with this answer, "I was just… You're not the only idiot in the house- well besides Four." I didn't grace that with a response, and he continued on like he hadn't really expected me to, anyway. "Sometimes I say what I don't mean when I'm in a temper."

Five snuck a look at me, unsure and seeking my guidance on whether he should go for it. I nodded, and he slid his gaze back to Nine, a little smile wavering at his lips, "Then maybe we should talk. Serious this time."

Nine nodded, looking relieved, "Yeah. Hey, I thought maybe…" He let the sentence fall flat, hunched over, like he wasn't all that sure. Then he straightened, meeting Five's gaze head on, "I thought maybe you'd like some cookies or something. We could make them."

He'd made his way all the over to the couch standing right beside me, looking like an eager to please puppy with eyes only for Five. I couldn't resist teasing him like this, "Now who's the needy one?"

He blushed, punching me in the shoulder, "Shut up, man." But there was a barely suppressed smile underneath it.

Five smiled too, eyes locked on Nine, "I'd like that."

Nine was still blushing when he put his hand out for Five. The smile that crossed Five's face was like none I'd seen him wear. He took the offered hand, getting up, and the two of them made their way to the kitchen to make their cookies. I smiled, watching them. This little late night wandering had brought me the clarity I needed to chase away the vulturing nightmares, and still smiling, I got up to head back to bed. Sarah and I had some talking to do.


End file.
